Candidates who take on power and promise real real progressive change are the ones voters are rallying behind, because anything less isn’t worth showing up for…
We are getting there, Gloria, inside the party as well. Jefferies is no longer a shoe-in for Speaker. He will be tested by someone with Bernie "credentials".
From a March 16th Axios article titled: Scoop: Jeffries faces growing threat of 2027 rebellion
"Axios reported last fall that more than 80 Democratic House candidates across the country were either non-committal on backing Jeffries' leadership or outright opposed to it. It's only gotten worse for him since then.
.....this crop of freshmen may provide the first chink in that heretofore impenetrable armor, with a bloc of genuinely viable candidates making clear that voting for Jeffries as speaker is not a given if the Democrats take the House."
The Democrats have been so cowed by big corporate money that most of them are still afraid to be seen in the same picture with a labor leader. But I can finally see that beginning to change, and progressive fighters like Graham Platner and Zohran Mamdani are leading the charge. Timid, temporizing moderates are no longer in vogue.
and, here in Seattle we have our own Mamdani in Katie Wilson... We have to help people understand that they currently want socialism: healthcare for all, childcare for all, good schools, fair wages, support for workers, accountability for all, etc.
I believe that Thom Hartmann suggested funding candidates directly, as contributions that go through Act Blue, are split, some go to the organization itself to pay salaries for officers and staff, some go to the DNC, and some to the candidate
I tried to donate directly to the candidate through their website, and it went through Act Blue..Not happy at all.
The reason that nothing has happened, the reason that we are in such sorry shape, is because of the weak, feckless and corrupt (it slops at the same donor trough as the RNC) DNC,
Agree & same thing happened to me when I tried to donate directly through candidate websites. I suspect that is because the rules about political contributions are complex and candidates must rely on ActBlue for compliance support. I guess sending a check would be possible. Also, lending our time by phone banking and postcarding and generally sharing our preferred candidates’ messages with others is another way to help. Every little thing helps.
Sending a check? What is a check? Just kidding. I haven't written a check in ages.But otherwise I agree, you make good points. Didn't think about that compliance thing.
Thank you, Thom Hartmann; your post was spot on. I've been asking a long time, when will the Democrats learn how to talk. Perhaps, as you pointed out, when they have something to say.
Platner says "I''m not the guy I was back then". OK. But can the Democratic Party say "We're not the DLC any more"? I don't think so, at least not as is stands today.
I approached the same topic from a slightly different angle but came up with a similar conclusion in "With a toxic Trump, nose-holding voters could be the key to Democratic victory in 2026 elections. The GOP has to fear the Republican voter who walks into the booth, pinches his nose, and decides Trump has finally made the his party intolerable." We can win over enough Republicans who rarely if ever vote for Democrats with the right candidates and prevail in 2026 - and we will be aided by Trump's becoming more and more unpopular. Link: https://halbrown.substack.com/p/with-a-toxic-trump-nose-holding-voters
I would like to think that your hope is correct, but the way I see it. Those Republicans disgusted with Trump are independents, and probably sat out the next election because they couldn't make themselves vote for a Democrat, in particular Kamala. True there are some disaffected Trump voters this time around, but are they significant.?
Trump has the undying loyaltyof his cult, which is about 35% and will not be moved, on top of which the Republicans are now full on redistricting after the Calais case in Louisiana.that and voter suppression laws, voter caging, MAGA election commissions, Republican ownership of election machines, eliminating or moving ballot boxes, restricted mail in ballots, especially through USPS policy, and poll watchers intimidating voters, especially armed poll watchers.
The Democrats had best get off their tushes and match the Republicans blow for blow, There are 16 states in winch Democrats have a trifecta and all 16 states had best get off their butts an, or the Democratic party will be for show only, kept alive for the pretense of a Democracy.
I hope and think it could become true, republicans will stay home and not vote. They may not be able to vote for a Democrat of any stripe; and, they are disgusted by the war and prices... if Democratic candidates use the advantages we have we might even flip those seats. It's worth the effort. IMHO
There are signs that some who voted for Trump are disgusted. One woman on TV said she voted for him three times, then slapped her head and said"i am an idiot"
Muslims who voted for him, or didn't vote for Kamala, have had buyers remorsesince November, as have Hispanics,but I know of undocumented Latino's who are, never the less Trump humpers,it is because of the culture war and Latin's are very culturally conservative, homophobic, misogynistic, patriarchal,and evidently that out weighs anyting else.
The problem is young males, white,black,brown,tan, the Incel crowd who can't get laid, and think it is a right of all males to get laid and dominate the female.
I've heard her day that she may run for president in 2028. I hope not. That would be the end of a SURE Democratic win. Someone please tell her that the U,S, is not yet that enlightened.
She has a website. I went to it, and begged her don't run that will be the end of democracy. Be short and sweet, no diatribe or lecture. Just let her know that you won't vote for her in a primary. She is her own worst enemy.
Problem is ego,these people have oversized ego's and she needs redemption, but those ego's mask an inferiority complex, and a sense of notbeing worthy.
She shares that much with Trump.
The fact is that the people who should run for office, have too much dignity and principles to do so.
It is like being the heavy weight champion of the world. He really isn't, in reality he is a person with no talent to sell except being able to take and dish out punishment.
I would love to see a female president, but I am a realist, and know that if the Democrats ran one, we would would see a continuation of the regime, if there is an election or an honest one, I am havingdoubs.
MAYDAY! MAYDAY! That is the message from this rant and from anyone who is paying attention. To observe May Day, I want to mention a book which was highly recommended by Jennifer Rubin on her website or Substack, "The Contrarian" yesterday. I have been skipping over her emails recently because I have been busy with my own writing and personal matters, but the one yesterday caught my attention, and it aligns perfectly with Thom's message and with the May Day actions going on today. Rubin gave a compelling review of the book, "How to be a Dissident" by Gal Beckerman. I have not read the book, of course, but it appears to be a must read. We certainly do need some bona fide dissidents right now. This also parallels perfectly, I believe, my new posting yesterday on my Substack, entitled, "Democrats, Liberals & Progressives, Must Fight for Fundamental Values Instead of Fighting Proxy Battles", and subtitled, "The War for Democracy & Against Fascism Will be Won or Lost in Schools." To some, I am talking heresy. I have said that it is necessary to stop playing games with the religious crackpots and extremists and giving them legitimacy under the guise of honoring personal beliefs and religious convictions. They are running roughshod over us and claiming their sanctimony is godly and righteous. I call BS. Religious concepts such as "original sin" have infiltrated politics, schooling, and many aspects of society. It is a bunch of medieval crap. An atheist or agnostic should be able to run for high office openly and unapologetically and schools must not be full of super-moralists preaching obedience to authority..
In recent weeks, headlines have been touting Trump’s declining popularity and approval ratings. And while that is certainly a hopeful thing, I think another number that Democrats should be looking at hard but appear to be ignoring is that the Democratic leadership approval and popularity numbers are even WORSE. Trump is still in the low to middle 30s, while the Democratic party approval numbers are sitting at 27-28%. I’ll say that again a bit differently. The Democratic party and leadership is MORE disliked than Trump. Right now, currently, Trump is more popular than the Democratic party. What the hell are Schumer, Jefferies, Gillibrand thinking? Their unwillingness to rock the boat and insistence on maintaining the status quo is almost more offensive to me than Trump and his MAGA acolytes’ positions. At least I know Trump doesn’t give a shit about me. But Schumer, Jefferies, and the rest of the Democratic leadership, will slide up beside me, smile, shake my hand, and then stab me in the back. It’s infuriating.
In a nutshell: “The post-1992 neoliberal Democratic Party didn’t lose because it was too progressive: it lost because it kept refusing to be progressive at all.” Thom Hartmann for DNC Chair! We MUST throttle the corporate Dems whose leadership has brought us to the brink of fascism.
Regardless of age, those with a young, progressive outlook ( like Bernie, AOC, Warren, Newsom and others) are what this country (and especially Democrats) needs, not the middle-of-the-road Dems that we have had for so long. Like FDR, who was so popular in his day, they have to have the courage to say what they mean ....and mean what they say.
As Thom mentioned, we need more housing, yes. And that will continue to get worse over time because Congress is doing nothing that will fix the problem - just make real estate developers richer, building replacement homes that climate change blew down, burned down, or floated away.
We Americans have failed to learn the lesson of the Three Little Pigs. Climate change is increasingly destroying woodframe houses with light and inexpensive asphalt roofing. What used to be repairable damage is usually a total loss today. Europe does not have America's housing problem because it builds the vast majority of homes with concrete block walls and heavy tiled roofing.
As the number of US houses destroyed by climate change keeps increasing, US insurance premiums will soon exceed monthly mortgage payments. That will make home ownership unaffordable for the vast majority of Americans under age 50. Case in point: when I retired in 2012 to a concrete house with a heavy tile roof on the Florida coast, my insurance premiums were $320/month. A decade later, due to fire and wind destroying entire neighborhoods statewide, my premiums had skyrocketed to $1,400/month. Because I was mortgage-free, I cancelled the policy. The only hurricane damage we experienced in 14 years was 2 tears in the pool screens from flying debris. The only fix for the housing problem is a national building code that discourages building houses out of wood.
Fantastic remark, Tom. We need all electric printed houses of concrete. Block is good too. New kinds of wall board from things recycled. A new generation of building materials. Solar whenever possible.
In my neck of the woods, they don't build homes, they build apartments which they call condominiums or townhouses, and come with an HOA. I watch them build them, cheap wood, playwod, chipboard, some Tyvek and siding and cheap asphalt roofing and then they sell them for $600.000, at a ridiculous interest rate.
And unless you are savvy and a qualified building inspector and do your own contracting, you will get cheated on materials and labor, if you build your own.
Dec 2025, 440 homes in Western Washington were destroyed by 50 to 60 mph winds.
And don't rely on building inspectors either, if not personally corrupt many are friends with the contractors and belong to the same lodges, but it goes up the chain, City Council and County commissioners are on the take and bend to the developers and contractors needs.
My wife is a retired building official and I know all about it,and the pressure she had to endure because of corruption, she eventually was forced to retire. because she wouldn't bend to the wishes of a developer. The whole thing left her traumatized for over a year.
I was 21 before I discovered that my family was from Broward. I was drafted while in college in the Chgo burbs. Because I passed an aptitude test for flight school, Navy let me enlist as a reserve sailor to be called to active duty at graduation to enter flight school at Pensacola. When I showed mom my orders, she suggested that she and dad move back to Ft Lauderdale so they could keep an eye on Grandma and me.
My Grandpa taught me to always buy a concrete house with a tile roof if I were ever to move to Florida. After chats in my teens with my Great Uncle, who lived ON the Ft. Lauderdale beach off A1A, I learned that the west side of A1A minimized rust and wind damage he was always having to fix living on the east side.
During my very unique Navy career, I learned that frequent transfers undermined home equity building. So I started buying fixer-uppers to lock in resale profits. Gramps and my dad taught me DIY skills as a hobby while growing up. I always had an independent house inspection to identify problems beyond my skills prior to closing. I used mortgage interest tax refunds to pay for tools, paint, and replacement elements. That is how, as a civil servant, I managed to pay cash for my luxurious retirement house across A1A from the beach in Central FL.
Regarding your mom, indeed, Florida is the epicenter of real estate fraud. That is what triggered the 2008 Recession. Nevertheless, there are quality builders in the high-priced neighborhoods.
My wife,not my mom was the building official. I lived in Pensecola in 1940, Dad was going to some training., I am in the 1940 Census for Escambia County. I attended a tactical control center training at Pensecola as a 2d Lt. They made it realistic inside a squad tent and everything.
Sorry about the confusion. All I did i Pecola was survive OCS, learn to fly airplanes, and then halfway thru, I was sent to DC to learn Vietnamese before sending me to the jungles on the Saigon River. That is when my career went from unusual to weird.
I dunno. I watched an interview of Platner with David Sirota, and he had to spend a great deal of time explaining why he is today a totally different person than when he was a hard right, military macho, misogynist, MAGA warrior before MAGA. He seems sincere, but Collins will use that against him ad nauseum.
Maybe he will be a fighter, maybe he will be progressive. I trust Bernie. No choice but to vote for him to get Sen. "I'm concerned" out of there, so I wish I could vote in Maine. But the level of trust I have in almost any US politician these days is about a millimeter deep.
I love David Sirota's work and find The Lever does far less partisan stooging for Corporate Democrat stooges than even Heather Cox Richardson, who cannot yet bring herself to call a genocide "a genocide," (although I do support both). Corporate Democrats trying to paint Platner as a Nazi like Sweetpea Hegseth in their ridiculous video ad helped Platner achieve the name recognition he needed.
Time also to look at Independent candidates. There are five Veterans running asIndependents for the Senate. Osborn in Nebraska, Achilles in Idaho, Bengs in South Dakota, Bodnar in Montana, and Pinkins in Mississippi. All are pledged to form an independent caucus not beholden to either party and acting as a fulcrum to actually represent their constituents.
Yes Thom, we are sick and tired of the Democrats you support and provide cover for. Nancy Pelosi is a "progressive" according to you and has done "a remarkable job." Hillary Clinton was "practically identical" to Hillary Clinton, who couldn't have been more opposite. Biden didn't have Parkinson's dementia he had a stutter. And on and on. You are very much like Trump in that your echoing of bullet points for the Democrats helped to usher in Trump, and only after the disaster of Trump are you conceding to the fact that all of these people you promoted and defended are warmongering sociopaths putting on a show for the Trump Derangement Syndrome base that cannot think clearly.
WTF are you talking about Boris. Thom does not and never has provided cover for Pelosi, he never claimed she was progressive,and he never said that she has done a remarkable job.
Are you having a mental break?. Are you confusing Thom with someone else?
Proof of your mental instability is this nonsensical statement: "Hillary Clinton was "practically identical" to Hillary Clinton, who couldn't have been more opposite
Read that back. Hillary Clinton was practically identical to Hillary Clinton.
Thom has not promoted and defended any warmongering sociopaths, on the other hand you have.. and that sociopath is Putin. You defended him constantly by trying to shift the discussion from Ukraine to Gaza, which is a well known psyop tactic.
Maybe you think that Putin is an heir to Stalin's Marxism. Is you a tankie?
We need Democrats who are more like Bernie, Democratic socialists. People first.
We are getting there, Gloria, inside the party as well. Jefferies is no longer a shoe-in for Speaker. He will be tested by someone with Bernie "credentials".
From a March 16th Axios article titled: Scoop: Jeffries faces growing threat of 2027 rebellion
"Axios reported last fall that more than 80 Democratic House candidates across the country were either non-committal on backing Jeffries' leadership or outright opposed to it. It's only gotten worse for him since then.
.....this crop of freshmen may provide the first chink in that heretofore impenetrable armor, with a bloc of genuinely viable candidates making clear that voting for Jeffries as speaker is not a given if the Democrats take the House."
We definitely need a change.
The Democrats have been so cowed by big corporate money that most of them are still afraid to be seen in the same picture with a labor leader. But I can finally see that beginning to change, and progressive fighters like Graham Platner and Zohran Mamdani are leading the charge. Timid, temporizing moderates are no longer in vogue.
and, here in Seattle we have our own Mamdani in Katie Wilson... We have to help people understand that they currently want socialism: healthcare for all, childcare for all, good schools, fair wages, support for workers, accountability for all, etc.
The old guard, Jeffries, Schumer, Pelosi, the DNC have tin ears, they are up to their neck in hock to the Donor class.
Pelsoi backed a Demopub, Joseph Kennedy II, against a genuine progressive Sen Markey of Mass.
She also backed another Demopub against AOC
Rahm Emanuel called us fucking retarded and is now exploring a Presidential run, bathing in his success at klling single payor.
We need to continue to starve the DNC et al & fund with our time to treasure those true progressive candidates that are surfacing.
I believe that Thom Hartmann suggested funding candidates directly, as contributions that go through Act Blue, are split, some go to the organization itself to pay salaries for officers and staff, some go to the DNC, and some to the candidate
I tried to donate directly to the candidate through their website, and it went through Act Blue..Not happy at all.
The reason that nothing has happened, the reason that we are in such sorry shape, is because of the weak, feckless and corrupt (it slops at the same donor trough as the RNC) DNC,
Agree & same thing happened to me when I tried to donate directly through candidate websites. I suspect that is because the rules about political contributions are complex and candidates must rely on ActBlue for compliance support. I guess sending a check would be possible. Also, lending our time by phone banking and postcarding and generally sharing our preferred candidates’ messages with others is another way to help. Every little thing helps.
Sending a check? What is a check? Just kidding. I haven't written a check in ages.But otherwise I agree, you make good points. Didn't think about that compliance thing.
Thanks for sharing that. I only contribute to one Democratic candidate and I will change my donation over to his website.
Thank you, Thom Hartmann; your post was spot on. I've been asking a long time, when will the Democrats learn how to talk. Perhaps, as you pointed out, when they have something to say.
As Platner has demonstrated, we do. And need to say it loud and clear.
Platner says "I''m not the guy I was back then". OK. But can the Democratic Party say "We're not the DLC any more"? I don't think so, at least not as is stands today.
I approached the same topic from a slightly different angle but came up with a similar conclusion in "With a toxic Trump, nose-holding voters could be the key to Democratic victory in 2026 elections. The GOP has to fear the Republican voter who walks into the booth, pinches his nose, and decides Trump has finally made the his party intolerable." We can win over enough Republicans who rarely if ever vote for Democrats with the right candidates and prevail in 2026 - and we will be aided by Trump's becoming more and more unpopular. Link: https://halbrown.substack.com/p/with-a-toxic-trump-nose-holding-voters
I would like to think that your hope is correct, but the way I see it. Those Republicans disgusted with Trump are independents, and probably sat out the next election because they couldn't make themselves vote for a Democrat, in particular Kamala. True there are some disaffected Trump voters this time around, but are they significant.?
Trump has the undying loyaltyof his cult, which is about 35% and will not be moved, on top of which the Republicans are now full on redistricting after the Calais case in Louisiana.that and voter suppression laws, voter caging, MAGA election commissions, Republican ownership of election machines, eliminating or moving ballot boxes, restricted mail in ballots, especially through USPS policy, and poll watchers intimidating voters, especially armed poll watchers.
The Democrats had best get off their tushes and match the Republicans blow for blow, There are 16 states in winch Democrats have a trifecta and all 16 states had best get off their butts an, or the Democratic party will be for show only, kept alive for the pretense of a Democracy.
I hope and think it could become true, republicans will stay home and not vote. They may not be able to vote for a Democrat of any stripe; and, they are disgusted by the war and prices... if Democratic candidates use the advantages we have we might even flip those seats. It's worth the effort. IMHO
There are signs that some who voted for Trump are disgusted. One woman on TV said she voted for him three times, then slapped her head and said"i am an idiot"
Muslims who voted for him, or didn't vote for Kamala, have had buyers remorsesince November, as have Hispanics,but I know of undocumented Latino's who are, never the less Trump humpers,it is because of the culture war and Latin's are very culturally conservative, homophobic, misogynistic, patriarchal,and evidently that out weighs anyting else.
The problem is young males, white,black,brown,tan, the Incel crowd who can't get laid, and think it is a right of all males to get laid and dominate the female.
Time will tell how this all plays out.
Obviously.
I've heard her day that she may run for president in 2028. I hope not. That would be the end of a SURE Democratic win. Someone please tell her that the U,S, is not yet that enlightened.
She has a website. I went to it, and begged her don't run that will be the end of democracy. Be short and sweet, no diatribe or lecture. Just let her know that you won't vote for her in a primary. She is her own worst enemy.
Problem is ego,these people have oversized ego's and she needs redemption, but those ego's mask an inferiority complex, and a sense of notbeing worthy.
She shares that much with Trump.
The fact is that the people who should run for office, have too much dignity and principles to do so.
It is like being the heavy weight champion of the world. He really isn't, in reality he is a person with no talent to sell except being able to take and dish out punishment.
Who's the her? Harris?
Yes.
I would love to see a female president, but I am a realist, and know that if the Democrats ran one, we would would see a continuation of the regime, if there is an election or an honest one, I am havingdoubs.
That was not my question. Tim and you referred to "her." Who were you both talking about?
Thank you.
Let's send Schumer to the nursing home that he deserves. Paid for by his corporate sponsors.
MAYDAY! MAYDAY! That is the message from this rant and from anyone who is paying attention. To observe May Day, I want to mention a book which was highly recommended by Jennifer Rubin on her website or Substack, "The Contrarian" yesterday. I have been skipping over her emails recently because I have been busy with my own writing and personal matters, but the one yesterday caught my attention, and it aligns perfectly with Thom's message and with the May Day actions going on today. Rubin gave a compelling review of the book, "How to be a Dissident" by Gal Beckerman. I have not read the book, of course, but it appears to be a must read. We certainly do need some bona fide dissidents right now. This also parallels perfectly, I believe, my new posting yesterday on my Substack, entitled, "Democrats, Liberals & Progressives, Must Fight for Fundamental Values Instead of Fighting Proxy Battles", and subtitled, "The War for Democracy & Against Fascism Will be Won or Lost in Schools." To some, I am talking heresy. I have said that it is necessary to stop playing games with the religious crackpots and extremists and giving them legitimacy under the guise of honoring personal beliefs and religious convictions. They are running roughshod over us and claiming their sanctimony is godly and righteous. I call BS. Religious concepts such as "original sin" have infiltrated politics, schooling, and many aspects of society. It is a bunch of medieval crap. An atheist or agnostic should be able to run for high office openly and unapologetically and schools must not be full of super-moralists preaching obedience to authority..
In recent weeks, headlines have been touting Trump’s declining popularity and approval ratings. And while that is certainly a hopeful thing, I think another number that Democrats should be looking at hard but appear to be ignoring is that the Democratic leadership approval and popularity numbers are even WORSE. Trump is still in the low to middle 30s, while the Democratic party approval numbers are sitting at 27-28%. I’ll say that again a bit differently. The Democratic party and leadership is MORE disliked than Trump. Right now, currently, Trump is more popular than the Democratic party. What the hell are Schumer, Jefferies, Gillibrand thinking? Their unwillingness to rock the boat and insistence on maintaining the status quo is almost more offensive to me than Trump and his MAGA acolytes’ positions. At least I know Trump doesn’t give a shit about me. But Schumer, Jefferies, and the rest of the Democratic leadership, will slide up beside me, smile, shake my hand, and then stab me in the back. It’s infuriating.
In a nutshell: “The post-1992 neoliberal Democratic Party didn’t lose because it was too progressive: it lost because it kept refusing to be progressive at all.” Thom Hartmann for DNC Chair! We MUST throttle the corporate Dems whose leadership has brought us to the brink of fascism.
1.Send this message to any Repbublican you know - especially mayors, governors, legislators, etc and anyone who works for them.
Im primaries vote for the youngest Democrat running
and/or
Don't vote for any one who has been in Congress more than 10 years
We shall overcome
Yes we can
Regardless of age, those with a young, progressive outlook ( like Bernie, AOC, Warren, Newsom and others) are what this country (and especially Democrats) needs, not the middle-of-the-road Dems that we have had for so long. Like FDR, who was so popular in his day, they have to have the courage to say what they mean ....and mean what they say.
Bernie has been in office more than 10 years.
But he’s not middle of the road by any means.
As Thom mentioned, we need more housing, yes. And that will continue to get worse over time because Congress is doing nothing that will fix the problem - just make real estate developers richer, building replacement homes that climate change blew down, burned down, or floated away.
We Americans have failed to learn the lesson of the Three Little Pigs. Climate change is increasingly destroying woodframe houses with light and inexpensive asphalt roofing. What used to be repairable damage is usually a total loss today. Europe does not have America's housing problem because it builds the vast majority of homes with concrete block walls and heavy tiled roofing.
As the number of US houses destroyed by climate change keeps increasing, US insurance premiums will soon exceed monthly mortgage payments. That will make home ownership unaffordable for the vast majority of Americans under age 50. Case in point: when I retired in 2012 to a concrete house with a heavy tile roof on the Florida coast, my insurance premiums were $320/month. A decade later, due to fire and wind destroying entire neighborhoods statewide, my premiums had skyrocketed to $1,400/month. Because I was mortgage-free, I cancelled the policy. The only hurricane damage we experienced in 14 years was 2 tears in the pool screens from flying debris. The only fix for the housing problem is a national building code that discourages building houses out of wood.
Fantastic remark, Tom. We need all electric printed houses of concrete. Block is good too. New kinds of wall board from things recycled. A new generation of building materials. Solar whenever possible.
In my neck of the woods, they don't build homes, they build apartments which they call condominiums or townhouses, and come with an HOA. I watch them build them, cheap wood, playwod, chipboard, some Tyvek and siding and cheap asphalt roofing and then they sell them for $600.000, at a ridiculous interest rate.
And unless you are savvy and a qualified building inspector and do your own contracting, you will get cheated on materials and labor, if you build your own.
Dec 2025, 440 homes in Western Washington were destroyed by 50 to 60 mph winds.
And don't rely on building inspectors either, if not personally corrupt many are friends with the contractors and belong to the same lodges, but it goes up the chain, City Council and County commissioners are on the take and bend to the developers and contractors needs.
My wife is a retired building official and I know all about it,and the pressure she had to endure because of corruption, she eventually was forced to retire. because she wouldn't bend to the wishes of a developer. The whole thing left her traumatized for over a year.
I was 21 before I discovered that my family was from Broward. I was drafted while in college in the Chgo burbs. Because I passed an aptitude test for flight school, Navy let me enlist as a reserve sailor to be called to active duty at graduation to enter flight school at Pensacola. When I showed mom my orders, she suggested that she and dad move back to Ft Lauderdale so they could keep an eye on Grandma and me.
My Grandpa taught me to always buy a concrete house with a tile roof if I were ever to move to Florida. After chats in my teens with my Great Uncle, who lived ON the Ft. Lauderdale beach off A1A, I learned that the west side of A1A minimized rust and wind damage he was always having to fix living on the east side.
During my very unique Navy career, I learned that frequent transfers undermined home equity building. So I started buying fixer-uppers to lock in resale profits. Gramps and my dad taught me DIY skills as a hobby while growing up. I always had an independent house inspection to identify problems beyond my skills prior to closing. I used mortgage interest tax refunds to pay for tools, paint, and replacement elements. That is how, as a civil servant, I managed to pay cash for my luxurious retirement house across A1A from the beach in Central FL.
Regarding your mom, indeed, Florida is the epicenter of real estate fraud. That is what triggered the 2008 Recession. Nevertheless, there are quality builders in the high-priced neighborhoods.
My wife,not my mom was the building official. I lived in Pensecola in 1940, Dad was going to some training., I am in the 1940 Census for Escambia County. I attended a tactical control center training at Pensecola as a 2d Lt. They made it realistic inside a squad tent and everything.
Sorry about the confusion. All I did i Pecola was survive OCS, learn to fly airplanes, and then halfway thru, I was sent to DC to learn Vietnamese before sending me to the jungles on the Saigon River. That is when my career went from unusual to weird.
I dunno. I watched an interview of Platner with David Sirota, and he had to spend a great deal of time explaining why he is today a totally different person than when he was a hard right, military macho, misogynist, MAGA warrior before MAGA. He seems sincere, but Collins will use that against him ad nauseum.
Maybe he will be a fighter, maybe he will be progressive. I trust Bernie. No choice but to vote for him to get Sen. "I'm concerned" out of there, so I wish I could vote in Maine. But the level of trust I have in almost any US politician these days is about a millimeter deep.
I love David Sirota's work and find The Lever does far less partisan stooging for Corporate Democrat stooges than even Heather Cox Richardson, who cannot yet bring herself to call a genocide "a genocide," (although I do support both). Corporate Democrats trying to paint Platner as a Nazi like Sweetpea Hegseth in their ridiculous video ad helped Platner achieve the name recognition he needed.
Time also to look at Independent candidates. There are five Veterans running asIndependents for the Senate. Osborn in Nebraska, Achilles in Idaho, Bengs in South Dakota, Bodnar in Montana, and Pinkins in Mississippi. All are pledged to form an independent caucus not beholden to either party and acting as a fulcrum to actually represent their constituents.
Yes Thom, we are sick and tired of the Democrats you support and provide cover for. Nancy Pelosi is a "progressive" according to you and has done "a remarkable job." Hillary Clinton was "practically identical" to Hillary Clinton, who couldn't have been more opposite. Biden didn't have Parkinson's dementia he had a stutter. And on and on. You are very much like Trump in that your echoing of bullet points for the Democrats helped to usher in Trump, and only after the disaster of Trump are you conceding to the fact that all of these people you promoted and defended are warmongering sociopaths putting on a show for the Trump Derangement Syndrome base that cannot think clearly.
WTF are you talking about Boris. Thom does not and never has provided cover for Pelosi, he never claimed she was progressive,and he never said that she has done a remarkable job.
Are you having a mental break?. Are you confusing Thom with someone else?
Proof of your mental instability is this nonsensical statement: "Hillary Clinton was "practically identical" to Hillary Clinton, who couldn't have been more opposite
Read that back. Hillary Clinton was practically identical to Hillary Clinton.
Thom has not promoted and defended any warmongering sociopaths, on the other hand you have.. and that sociopath is Putin. You defended him constantly by trying to shift the discussion from Ukraine to Gaza, which is a well known psyop tactic.
Maybe you think that Putin is an heir to Stalin's Marxism. Is you a tankie?
Hear, hear!
Finally!